It provides an easy way for people to check out the laboratory-based research that has been done to date on spa treatments.

The truth is out there

Bath's Thermae Bath Spa is Britain's only natural thermal spa -- and purported to be good for wellness.

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"We do not need to wait for the research to happen. We need to aggregate the research that already exists and broadcast it," says Dr Pelletier, an integrative health expert, university professor and one of the people behind the Wellness Evidence website.

There are more than 640 recognized complementary and alternative medicine modalities, but up till now clinical studies have been lodged in a number of databases not easily accessible to the average spa-goer.

Western medicine isn't perfect either

Is it just about relaxation, or are there genuine health benefits?

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"People assume that the clinical evidence always sides with conventional Western medicine, but the 'gold standard' for medical research, the Cochrane Reviews, indicates that only 30-35% of conventional medicine is adequately evidence-based," says Dr Pelletier.

Some 21 modalities are covered by the website currently, but this will increase to 40 by the end of the year.

"Some of the medical evidence for spa and wellness approaches is powerful, some is inconclusive, some is negative, and certainly far more studies need to be undertaken. But the site's philosophy is that unflinching transparency is the true path to industry legitimacy and growth," says Susie Ellis, GSS and Spa Finder co-founder.

Catharine Nicol was the editor of AsiaSpa magazine for nine years and now judges Spafinder Wellness 265 Global Wellness Travel Awards.

Editor's note: This article was previously published in 2011. It was reformatted and republished in 2017.